Council Members Praise Socialist Leader

Three City Council members -- John Liu, Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Robert Jackson -- heaped praise yesterday on President Morales of Bolivia, moments after Mr. Morales denounced an American "conspiracy" to block his socialist political agenda at home.

"There is a conspiracy in Bolivia," Mr. Morales said through a translator. "The U.S. ambassador is at the head of it, including plans with USAID, and we know they too are historic enemies of the indigenous people's struggles. For example, U.S. money comes to Bolivia, but in exchange for 'zero coca' or in exchange for fighting terrorism, when there is no terrorism in Bolivia."

Mr. Morales, the first indigenous head of state in his country, delivered his remarks at a reception at the American Indian Community House in Lower Manhattan, where he was honored for his advocacy on behalf of the rights of indigenous people.

A coca farmer by trade, Mr. Morales was elected president in 2005 with strong support from Bolivia's coca farming community, who say their crop, which can be processed into cocaine, was targeted unfairly by the government. America has sought to reduce coca farming in South America as part of its antidrug policy.

As members of the council's Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus, Ms. Mark-Viverito and Messrs. Liu and Jackson presented Mr. Morales with a framed proclamation recognizing his work on behalf of indigenous peoples' rights.

"I thought it was great," Mr. Jackson said of Mr. Morales's speech. "If you look at all of the stuff he laid out, if you asked the people of New York, they would want that."

Ms. Mark-Viverito said Mr. Morales's speech had a "message of equality." She added that his policies should be examined from the perspective of his constituents.

"He is presenting, of course, policies that may be controversial in this country, but policies that ultimately the people that he represents will have to decide on," she said.

Mr. Liu said he found Mr. Morales's words inspiring and compared the Bolivian president's nationalization of natural resources to City Council efforts to include "affordable" housing and other concessions in city developments.

The three council members each said they did not have enough information to judge whether Mr. Morales's accusation about an American conspiracy in Bolivia was accurate.

Mr. Morales at yesterday's event touted his domestic policies, including nationalizing the country's gas and oil industry, redistributing land, and doling out a government allowance to parents who send their children to school. He decried opponents of both of these policies as well as opponents of his efforts to ratify a new constitution that would end term limits on his office and give greater autonomy to indigenous groups. An upcoming referendum on the constitution has sparked violent unrest in Bolivia.

"Now that there's a change, we know that the internal and external enemies of the people are going to continue to work, because they're not happy when we talk about capitalism, imperialism, neoliberalism, and such," Mr. Morales said. "But all of this doesn't scare me -- we're going forward."